Every Rose Has Its Thorn
by Momolovesanime
Summary: This is the story of a girl. This is the story of a girl that pretended to be a boy to carry on her family's name in their absence. This is the story of a girl who fell in love with a man she couldn't have. This is the story of me, Karren von Rosewald.
1. Bud

This is the story of a girl. This is the story of a girl that pretended to be a boy to carry on her family's name in their absence. This is the story of a girl who fell in love with a man she couldn't have. This is the story of me, Karren von Rosewald.

Now problems, those can be fixed. Unrequited love, however, now that's a tragedy. If you're into astrology, you could say we were star crossed-lovers, but I don't even think that captures how much pain it caused the both of us. Though, I'd never know if He felt the same about me. Because I died.

But that's the ending to this tragedy. Spoilers! Many, many things led up to this climax of my life. But, I think I was happiest when I died, so maybe my whole life wasn't for naught... That's up to you to decide, I guess.

So, let's start with the beginning, shall we?

Hans von Rosewald married my mother, Emma Tsukiyama at the beautiful age of 29 while she was 23. They had met while hunting one night for humans and hit it off from there. Both were from very distinguished families, so getting married was an easy task for these two lovers. After marriage, they settled in Germany, where my father's family mansion was located.

Two years later, my oldest brother Arnold was born. Arnold was a serious, handsome man who cared nothing for sports and everything for academics.

"He's going to be a fine heir to the Rosewald family!" my father used to say all the time.

My second eldest brother, Nathanael, was born four years after Arnold. He was a rambunctious and rebellious boy who loves to poke fun at everything and everyone. He cared little for schoolwork and always seemed to be covered in dirt, much to my mother's chagrin.

But Father didn't mind his ways, he even encouraged him!

"Go on, go have fun!" he would say. "Just don't wander too far!"

Arnold had a secret jealousy for Nathanael. Because all of the pressure weighed on his shoulders to carry on the family's legacy, Arnold never found the time to have fun or get dirty, but he always had a secret longing to explore the mansion grounds with his brother.

And finally, after my mother's long wait for a daughter, a third and final child came along on the 23rd of April, me, Karren von Rosewald.

Being the youngest and only girl, (and favorite, as my brothers would say) I was given free reign to do whatever I pleased because I wouldn't ever have the burden my brothers had. If anything happened to Arnold, Nathanael would take his place as the heir, so I would never have to worry about such things.

My parents adored me, and my brothers constantly had it out for me. I always got away with petty shenanigans, and my brothers claimed that they never got away with anything.

But that really wasn't the case. My parents loved and gave attention to each of us equally, despite Arnold and Nathanael's claims that I was the only thing they cared about.

Emma, my mother, was a stay-at-home mom and took care of us while my father was away at his business. The servants in our house taught us everything we needed to know academic-wise, but my mother insisted that we know other languages. Because her family was both French and Japanese, all three of us siblings were fluent in German, as well as French and Japanese by the time I was six years old, though we mainly spoke German.

My brothers and I got along swimmingly, though we did have our occasional brawls in the courtyard. Like if Arnold insulted me, Nathanael would always back me up and beat him up, or vice-versa. I was always too little to fight with them, but I didn't have any problem tattling on either one of them.

"Mama!" I would cry from the courtyard. "Arnold called me stupid!"

Arnold would roll his eyes and flick me on the forehead as he was called inside by either Mother or Father for a scolding. Nathanael and I would look at each other with grins filled with mischief as he started running around the grounds and I tottered after him as fast as I could.

I remember one day, all three of us were running outside by the garden. Nathanael started racing Arnold around the bushes.

"I want to race too!" I would say, lining up on the start line, a pile of rocks gathered into a line in the grass, trying to imitate them. I pulled my leg forward into a huge lunge as far as my little legs could split and set my hands in the grass, ready to race.

"Karren, you'll just cry if you don't win," Nathanael said. "Besides, you're too young to beat us. You're only five."

"I won't cry!" I argued, accidentally losing my balance from rage. They both snickered quietly as I heaved myself and my dress back up and got back into the ready position. "I want to race!"

"It's alright with me," Arnold said. "I won't come in last place this time."

"Alright. Fine, Karren," Nathanael said. "Run around the bushes and come back here. Whoever gets here first gets all the loser's desserts for a month!"

"Such high stakes," Arnold said, smirking. "I like it."

They both looked to me. I nodded, ready for anything.

"On your marks..." Nathanael said. "Get set... GO!"

We all sprung off the starting line, and started the race. I saw both Nathanael and Arnold sprint past me like gazelles. I tried to run as fast as I could, but my legs wouldn't carry me as fast as I wanted them too! When I got to the bushes we were supposed to go around, I began to feel dishearten and started tearing up, just like Nathanael had predicted. I heard their footsteps already cross the finish line. Nathanael had won yet again.

As the tears welled up in my eyes at the loss of my dessert for a month, I stopped running and hid behind the bushes so they wouldn't see me crying.

I could hear Arnold's angry yells at Nathanael who was being rather cocky. Arnold was begging for just one more race as the tears started falling down my eyes. I sniffed hugely and wiped them away with the hem of my dress and crouched down on the ground to sob quietly.

"Karren?" I heard Nathanael say. "Are you coming, slow poke?"

I buried my face in my dress and didn't respond.

"Come on, Karren," Nathanael prodded. "It's not like you actually though you were going to win."

"Stop, Nathanael," Arnold said. "Don't be mean."

I heard them walking towards me so I crawled further into the bush to hide from them. This overwhelmingly sweet smell filled my sensitive nostrils and made my eyes water a little bit more than they already were.

"Karren, come on out," Arnold asked. "Nathanael didn't really mean you'd have to give up your dessert."

"What?"

"Shut up," he muttered under his breath. "Karren!"

"Karren!" they called for me, but I refused to reply.

"I can smell you right here, you know," Arnold said. I could see their silhouettes from inside the bush.

"All I smell is roses," Nathanael admitted. "You sure she's here?"

"Yes," he said defiantly. "Karren, come on out. Don't be sad, ok?"

"Yeah, I didn't mean it, Karren," Nathanael cooed.

I wiped away my tears and asked, "So... I can really still have my dessert?"

"Yes," they said together, squatting outside the bush.

"Even... Even an eyeball?" I inquired further.

"Even an eyeball," Arnold assured me.

I smiled hugely and stood up in the bush. As I tried to walk out, I got caught in the vines of the bush and couldn't move. I was completely and utterly stuck. I struggled further into my entanglement, and soon the thorns on the bush began to sink into my skin.

Now I know what you're thinking. How could thorns pierce into a ghoul's skin? Aren't they, like, ten times more resistant that humans? And you're right, but not young ghouls. Their skin isn't as impermeable as adult ghoul's skin.

"Ow!" I screeched, struggling to get out of the thorns. I started screaming and wailing for my brother's help.

"Karren!" they both said, alarmed. "What's the matter?!"

"It hurts!" I cried.

"Go get Papa!" Nathanael yelled at Arnold urgently.

I heard his footsteps run away quickly.

"Karren, keep still, Papa's on his way," he said, trying to comfort me. "I'm gonna try to get you out, ok?"

Yet, I still floundered around, trying to break free from the thorns, only entangling myself further still. I saw Nathanael trying to reach his hands through the bush to see if he could help untangle me. Amongst all my screaming and wailing, Nathanael tried to do everything he could to free me from the thorns, but he just could reach far enough.

Finally, Father arrived and ripped away all the thorns that blocked me from getting out. He scooped me into his secure arms and held me tightly.

"Are you alright, my darling Karren?" he whispered in my ear.

I bit my lip and tried to smile, but the tears in my eyes wouldn't stop. "I'm ok," I whimpered.

"Let's get you all fixed up," he said, walking me back inside the manor.

"What were those things?" I asked.

"Rose bushes," he said. "The flowers may look beautiful, Karren, but the thorns are pretty sharp. Never forget that, alright?"

"Ok, Papa," I nodded.

He set me down on one of the tables and began picking each and every thorn out of my skin carefully. When he was finished, he ruffled my hair and said, "There, good as new!"

I couldn't help but to laugh again. With the thorns out of my skin, the little cuts all around began to heal themselves. Within minutes, I began running around the manor, looking for my brothers after my little encounter with my new least-favorite thing in the world, roses. When I had found them in the courtyard, I gave them both huge hugs for saving me.

And from that moment on, I never went near that rose bush or any others unless I absolutely had too. The smell I had once thought sweet now sickened me and disgusted my nose.

* * *

By the time I was seven, when Arnold had just turned fourteen, Father decided that it was time for his first hunt. Mother was completely opposed to the idea, but Father eventually convinced her.

"He's not going to have us forever, you know, Emma," he said. "Sooner or later, he has to become a man."

That was around the time that he and Nathanael had started playing around with their kagune. Both were ukakus, like Mother. I was super jealous of them because, at the time, I still couldn't bring my kagune out yet.

They teased me relentlessly about how apparently I was adopted and actually a human, only kept in the family for emergency food in case of a shortage. But Father punished them severely for that lie, so they stopped almost immediately after they had come up with that fantastical story. He didn't let either of them eat for a whole month and had to postpone Arnold's first hunt until further notice.

After the time came for Arnold to embark on his first hunt with Father, he came back with a corpse of a human women and a successful first hunt story. I was enraptured by the idea of killing my own food, but Nathanael almost got sick while Arnold described his gruesome account.

I always dreamt that the reason Nathanael didn't like killing was because he was secretly in love with a human, but that would never have been true because we had never interacted with many humans before. Father had loads of times because he was the head of a major corporation with many human employees. Nathanael was content on eating the food the servants provided us instead of actually hunting, which Father disapproved of, but couldn't do anything about.

Father told us about the dangers of humans and the many organizations that hunted us ghouls for the simple fact that we existed, which didn't make sense to me. It's not as if the cattle try to kill humans for eating them! He even warned us about the human food that was toxic to our bodies, and that sometimes we'd have to eat it in order to avoid suspicion.

Mother didn't encourage Father's stories of the humans because she thought Nathanael and I were too young for the horrors of the human world. Father admitted I might be a bit too young, but that I'd have to learn about it sooner or later.

By that time, Mother had been teaching me everything I needed to know about being a proper lady. And by then, Nathanael had grown out of his rebellious phase and began studying hard like Arnold.

I missed them fervently. I missed when we raced around the grounds, I missed playing hide-and-go-seek with them, I missed Nathanael shoving Arnold into a wall to defend my honor and vice-versa. I missed my brothers and I missed how it used to be.

But they both gave excuses to me as to why they had to go off and study something while I was left alone and without entertainment. To fill my lonely time, I asked my mother if I could take up an instrument.

"Sure, that's a great idea!" she said. "But which one? Do you have something in mind?"

"The violin, perhaps," I suggested.

My mother's eyes lit up when I said this. She thought it was the most perfect plan in the history of the world.

The only reason why I thought of the violin was because during some of my parents' dinner parties, our servants would play different instruments to entertain the guests. The violin had always intrigued me with its peculiar elegance and enrapturing sound.

I was completely terrible when I first started, but after practicing copious hours in the drawing room on a particularly hard piece at the time, I finally found the courage to play in front my family.

When I had run through the piece with virtually no mistakes for the fifth time in a row, I ran downstairs to tell my family.

Father was in his office working while the rest of them were in the dining room. Mother was tutoring them in some subject that didn't matter to me at the time.

"Mama!" I said excitedly. "I got it! I can play that piece you picked out for me!"

She stood up and smiled brightly. Nathanael and Arnold both looked up from their work.

"What do you say, boys? Shall we hear it?" she asked.

They both nodded at each other and Nathanael replied, "Sure."

I ran back upstairs in the drawing room with a giddy step, grabbed the music stand, violin, bow, and the sheet music. On of the servants caught me running down the hall and helped me carry everything downstairs.

We set up everything in the dining room quickly and Mother had gotten Father to come watch as well. Even some of the servants showed up to listen.

I looked out to my audience. Everyone was staring at me with smiles of anticipation.

I gulped and looked at the sheet music, readying my instrument to my neck. I held the bow in my delicate hand and started playing. The notes seemed to glide in the air and swirl melodiously around the ears of everyone who listened. I played the piece absolutely perfectly, even I was surprised.

At last, when I lowered the bow and violin to give a curtesy to my audience, everyone stood up and clapped for me. My face flushed red at the amount of praise I received. My Father even spun me around in the air to congratulate me.

"That was absolutely beautiful, my darling Karren!" he extolled. "Simply wonderful!"

"Way to go, Karren!" Nathanael cheered, clapping louder than everyone else in the room.

"Looks like we have quite the little virtuoso in the manor," Mother gleamed with praise.

I don't think I'd ever felt so happy in my life than in that moment.

When the applause stopped and everyone had gone back to what they were doing previously, my Mother sat me in her lap as she tutored the boys.

"You know, Karren," she said. I looked into her eyes as she spoke, "I used to play the violin, too."

I gasped and said, "Mama, why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "That piece I recommended, I didn't think you'd master it so soon. It took me months!"

"Really?" I asked, suddenly feeling a surge of pride. "But I got in in two weeks..."

"It's a special gift, Karren," she said. "Music brings people together. How do you think I got your Papa to date me?"

I laughed, but was immediately shushed by Arnold who was working on a complicated problem.

"Sorry," I whispered.

* * *

Everything was absolutely perfect in those days of my youth. Despite my brothers not playing with me as much, we still got along as harmoniously as ever. Father's work was beginning to take up more and more of his time, so he began to take longer and longer to return home from working. Mother seemed to be worried about him more than usual. I could tell she wasn't sleeping well from ever-growing dark circles under her eyes. But whenever I asked her about it, she always brushed me off like everything was fine.

Until it wasn't.

* * *

(I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or any of its characters. This was made for entertainment purposes only and no copyright is intended.)


	2. In Bloom

It was the year of my ninth birthday (but I hadn't turned nine yet) when things started to go wrong. Father came home one night looking particularly distressed, but he smiled kindly as he greeted all of us, trying to act like nothing was wrong.

"It's late," he said to us. "Children, I think you should go to bed."

"But it's only eight-" I tried to say.

"Yes, Papa," Arnold replied, getting the message. He put his hand on my shoulder and led both of us into the hallway towards our rooms. I looked back in worriment as Father rushed Mother into the opposite hallway.

My room was the first door on the left. Arnold shooed me in.

"What's happening?" I asked, a little bit afraid. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, but Papa doesn't want to tell us," Arnold said. "Just go to bed, Karren. I'm sure everything's fine."

"Ok..." I said as he closed the door to my room. A couple seconds later, two more doors closed next to mine.

But I wasn't just going to just sit by and do nothing. I opened my door sneakily and looked both ways before I stepped into the hall. The coast was clear. I snuck out of the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. I put my ear up against the wall to the kitchen and started listening. Father was whispering hoarsely to Mother, but I could still hear them.

"Emma, you know what this means, right?" he said. "We're being targeted."

"Hans, I..." she said, flustered. "Wh-what do we do?"

"We should lay low for a while until we know for certain that they're coming," he said. "No more hunting. No more anything."

"Hans, how will we all survive if we don't hunt?!" she spoke a little louder with a shrill of fear in her voice.

"It'll work out..." he said. "Don't worry, Emma, I will protect this family no matter what."

"I-I trust you, Hans," she said. "What do we tell the children?"

"I... I don't know yet..." Father said, sounding somber. "I'll think of something."

I ran as fast as I could back to my room and shut the door gently after I entered. Our family was being targeted, but by who? Other ghouls? Or maybe humans? So many questions swam around in my brain about the conversation my parents just had. But Father's words stuck out in my mind. He said he would protect us no matter what. I clung to those words as my head hit the pillow on my bed.

"We'll be alright," I said to myself, smiling in the dark. "Yeah, just fine."

Without changing into a nightgown or anything, I pulled the covers of my bed over myself and closed my eyes. But sleep didn't come until the earliest hours of the morning.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of Nathanael rapping on my bedroom door. "Wake up, Karren. It's almost ten."

I opened my eyes immediately. I quickly changed closed and rushed downstairs. I met my mother in the kitchen and apologized profusely for oversleeping.

"It's alright," she said. "Karren, how would you like to go into town tomorrow? I was thinking we could get you some new clothes or something."

"Oh, I was going to try and practice my violin all day tomorrow," I said.

"Ok, then how about another time?" she asked.

"Of course," I said. "Just tell me when."

"Alright," she said. "Now go, your tutors are waiting for you."

"Yes, Mama," I said running off to the dining room where I usually had my class.

* * *

Father came home much earlier that day and had a private meeting with Nathanael and Arnold in his study. Mother kept me company so I would go spy on them.

"But Mama, I'm a part of this family, too!" I argued. "I want to know what's going on."

"Karren, it's not your place to judge your father's actions," Mother said, a little more stern than usual. "Just be patient. I'm sure it's nothing too important."

I rolled my eyes and decided to be quiet.

At dinner that night, Nathanael barely ate anything and had an expression of pure terror on his face the whole time. Arnold remained his composure almost as well as Father, but Mother looked a bit distressed over Nathanael's condition.

"Nathanael?" Mother asked. "Please, eat something."

He just stared at his plate and didn't reply.

"Nathanael," she implored. "Son?"

"Emma," Father said, "let him be."

She looked as if she was about to say something, then stopped and continued taking small bites of our meal.

I looked at Father, who looked completely stoic, and then to Arnold, who was trying to act like nothing was wrong. This made me terribly angry. I clenched my fork and gritted my teeth for a while. No one said anything for about five minutes. Finally, I had enough.

I stood up abruptly and slammed my fork back on the table.

"Karren?" Mother asked, surprised.

"Why won't anyone tell me what's going on?!" I yelled at Father.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, a little taken aback.

"Come on, I know you're all hiding something from me!" I said. "I can handle it, I'm not weak!"

"Karren, just calm down-"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!" I shouted.

"Karren," my Father said, raising his voice. "Sit down." I flinched and sat down immediately, only brave enough to stare at my knees. "Thank you."

Everyone was staring at me and then slowly looked to Father.

He took a deep breath before speaking. "Karren, I didn't want to worry you so I decided it would be best to keep it from you," he began. "But, if you really want to know..."

"Father, I don't think it's a good idea-" Arnold tried to say.

"Hush," he interrupted. "The CCG is currently holding an investigation against our family under the suspicion that we are ghouls."

"Hans, don't-"

"Emma, it's alright. Karren's has a right to know what's going to happen to our family," he said plainly. "They haven't proven it yet, but if they do, they will most likely come after us and try to exterminate our whole family."

I couldn't look him in the eye, but I gasped at his words.

"You see why I didn't want to worry you?" he said, getting up from his chair. His arms wrapped around me in my chair and he whispered, "I will never let anything happen to us, I swear it, Karren."

I burst into tears and apologized for my outburst, clinging to my father for dear life. He forgave me and said it was alright.

He sat down at the head of the table again after I let go and resumed eating. I wiped away my tears and looked at Mother. Her face was buried into her hands. Arnold was looking at me with a deadly glare on his face, and Nathanel was staring at Father. Without warning, Nathanael stood up and left the table without saying anything. They all just let him go, not even bothering to call him back. Arnold continued staring at me the whole time during dinner, and Mother just silently sobbed into her hands until Father excused her. Finally, Arnold left after barely touching his food.

Only Father and I remained. He hadn't touched much of his food after my outburst, either. He was resting his palms in his hands and said, "You can go, Karren."

"I'm sorry, Papa," I said, ashamed. "I didn't mean to-"

"Karren, it's alright. Just go."

I nodded and scurried out of the room.

Arnold was waiting for me as I walked out of the dining room. I saw him leaning up against the wall as I opened the door. He glared at me. I gasped and started running away, but he caught me by the arm and dragged me into the courtyard.

"Let go!" I yelled, kicking and trying to escape. "I didn't mean to!"

My face hit the grass before the rest of my body did.

"You idiot!" he yelled at me, standing above me menacingly. "Why the hell did you just do that? Couldn't you tell Nathanael was worried?! Not to mention, Mama! You're so dense that you didn't even think that for one second that your out-bursting would effect anyone else, you little pest!"

I stayed on the ground, cowering as he yelled at me. "I didn't mean to cause Mama to... or Nathanael..."

"You ignorant little fool," he spat coldly. "I hope the investigators get you. It'll be dead weight off of our family."

I heard someone yelling and heavy footsteps. As I looked up through my tear-soaked eyes, Nathanael was charging Arnold with his kagune out and everything.

I screamed and hit the floor, covering my head.

"Don't talk to her like that, you bastard!" Nathanael cursed violently. "It's not Karren's fault! Take back what you said!"

I peaked my head over my shoulder. It looked like they were about to fight to the death.

"Guys!" I yelled. "Stop fighting!"

But they kept on going at it.

I scrambled to my feet and started running inside to go get Father. I burst into the dining room, but Father wasn't there. I asked the servants where he went and they replied his study. I took off running down the halls and up the stairs, yelling for him.

He met me in the middle of the stairs frantically. "What's wrong?!" he asked.

I paused out of breath, and heaved out, "Arnold... and Nathanel! They're... in the courtyard! Fighting!"

He looked out the windows behind us and started sprinting downstairs. I followed after him as fast as I could. By the time I reached the courtyard, Father had already stopped the fight with his kagune. He had grabbed both Arnold and Nathanael with his rinkaku and separated each other.

"Both of you," he demanded, "stop fighting!"

"He started it!" Nathanael retorted back, gnashing his teeth like a wild animal. "He was bullying Karren!"

They were both trying to struggle out of Father's kagune with their kakugan blazing red and black. I had never seen either of them this mad before.

Father whipped them both into the ground to temporarily stop them. I ran up to Father and hid behind his legs.

"Are they going to be ok?" I whimpered.

But he wasn't listening, he started marching towards Arnold, so I ran towards Nathanael.

"Are you ok?" I asked, helping him off the ground.

"I'm fine," he said. He looked at me with his red eyes. I jumped back with a flash of fear, but he quickly switched back to his human eyes and apologized. "Karren, are you alright?" I nodded. "Don't ever let him talk to you like that, alright? You don't have to take his crap."

"And you!" my father said, turning to Nathanael. "What in the hell gave you the right to attack your brother like that?!"

I jumped around Nathanael to hide from Father.

"Like I said, he was bullying-"

"So?!"

"I couldn't just let him-"

"You do not ever have the right to attack your brother like that, even if he is doing such a despicable thing!" he yelled. "Just because we have been given things like kagune does not mean we can whip them out whenever someone insults someone! I thought I taught you two better!" he lectured. "Arnold, that goes for you, too! I am speechless. I am very disappointed in you both. If you either of you try anything like this again, I swear on my name that it will be the last day you ever live."

"Yes, sir," they both replied immediately.

"Now apologize to each other."

Arnold and Nathanael walked up to each other with their heads hung low. They both mumbled sincere apologies and hugged at the end.

"And Karren," he continued.

Arnold hesitantly walked over to me and apologized.

I hugged him tightly and said, "It's ok, I forgive you."

"Thank you," Father said, finally calming down a little. "Both of you, my office."

He started walking back into the manor with my brothers at his heels.

I sighed in relief and wiped the dirt and tears off of my cheeks. Mother was standing by the doorway. I glanced over at her. She was still in tears so I ran over and gave her a huge hug. She sobbed in my arms and held me tightly.

"This won't break our family apart, Karren," she said more for her own sake then mine.

I nodded as she squeezed me a little tighter and then let go. She led me back into the manor and said, "I'd like to hear you play something to get my mind off of things."

"Of course, Mama," I replied gladly.

* * *

The next month was rough. Our family had to ration what little food we had left since Father had completely outlawed hunting. Not even the servants could hunt. All of us were surviving on the small food storage in the basement, which Father kept locked securely so no one could sneak in and steal anything.

I remember I was so hungry, my kakugan would accidentally show at random times.

"Karren," my mother would say. "Try to control it. We're all hungry, you know."

I nodded, and tried my best to hide it.

Mother starting getting headaches more frequently during that time. They would hurt her so much that she would have to go lie down in a dark room with no noise to keep her head from exploding in pain. I wasn't allowed to play my violin during that time because it would disturb her.

My ninth birthday came during that month of April. Father bought me a new violin. It was so marvelous and shiny, I just had to play it. Fortunately, that day Mother didn't have a headache, so I got to play out in the courtyard for everyone. Dinner wasn't much of a feast like we usually did on birthdays, but it was more than we received regularly.

Despite the constant hunger and Mother's headaches, we were all still content as a family. Nathanael and Arnold didn't fight with me hardly ever during that time. We all felt that an air of security blanketed our family, like we were untouchable even in that stressful time.

Father continued to work as usual, but he did not stay late or come home early to avoid suspicion. On the side, he was constantly investigating the CCG's investigation on us to see how far they were and if they had any proof or not that we were ghouls.

I wasn't worried one bit. I knew that Father would take care of us no matter what, and that kept me going.

But one day, Father came home later than usual. He stumbled through the door with a wretched look on his face. The servants had to help him walk to the nearest chair, he was so out of sorts.

"Call... Call everyone into the dining room," he managed to say.

I looked to Arnold, who immediately knew something was definitely wrong. Nathanael and I were confused. Mother was stone-cold and the color of paper. She was frozen in place. It was like she turned into a statue when Father walked in. But she took a huge gulp and helped escort her husband into the dining room while the servants went to go get everyone in the house.

We all moved robotically into the dining room. The air was so thick with tension, you could feel it. The room smelled of anxiety: sweat, salt and tears. Father sat at the head of the table with Mother standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder. He was clutching her hand with a pale pallor and an expression of extreme morbidness.

Everyone sat at the table. Arnold was at Father's right and Nathanal was at his left. I was sitting next to Nathanel and the servants filled the rest of the seats at the table.

"We have been discovered," Father said plainly. "I don't know how, but the CCG has found us out."

The whole room was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop.

To be honest, I don't remember what thoughts went through my mind at that moment. I was probably in complete shock.

"Thankfully, we have caught wind of when they're planning to attack," he said. "The raid is set for two days from now. I know that doesn't give us a lot of time, but at least we know. Now, staff, I hereby relieve you of all your duties. You are all free to go."

There was an uproar after that was said. All of them wanted to stay and help us escape, but Father ordered all of them to pack up and leave as soon as they could.

"Good luck, all of you," he said. "And thank you for your service to us."

And just like that, they all swallowed their emotions and obeyed. They all slowly rose up from their chairs and started leaving.

When all of them had left the room, Arnold finally spoke. "What're we going to do...?"

"I have a plan," he said. "None of you are going to like it."

"Hans, no-" Mother choked out.

"Emma, take care of the kids," he said, looking at her with a stoic face.

She nodded and said, "Yes."

"Arnold, Nathanael, Karren," he said, looking at all of us. "Carry on the Rosewald line."

Arnold nodded, Nathanael didn't do anything, and I was confused.

"But Papa, where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going to try and lead the doves off your trail," he said. "Two days is enough time for all of you to escape. I'll stay here and buy you all even more time."

"But Hans, where will we go?" Mother asked.

"Your brother's should be safer than here," he said. "I've secured transportation for all of you to get there."

"Will you meet us there when you're done?" I asked.

Everyone looked away from my eyes.

"What?" I asked, not understanding. "Won't you?"

No one said anything.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "Papa...? You don't mean..."

He stood up and hugged Mother. "Emma, I love you."

"I love you too, Hans," she cried.

He hugged each of us in turn, saying that he loved us.

"If I am to die to let all of you live, it will be worth it," he said, getting a little teary-eyed as well. "Now, all of you. Pack only what is absolutely essential and leave tonight."

I walked slowly towards my room, still in shock from everything he'd told us. I opened up my closet and started picking out all of the clothes I needed. I even packed a small picture frame with a family portrait I kept by my bed. Father came in and brought me a briefcase to pack, but left before I could say anything. I looked around my room, trying to see if I had forgotten anything.

My violin rested peacefully on my dresser with the bow underneath the stand.

I glanced back at my briefcase. There was a little room left. I could definitely fit it inside. So I stuffed it under some clothes and packed more clothes on top of it to cushion it and placed the bow neatly inside and closed the case.

Right as I closed the case, Arnold came in wearing a jacket and holding his pack.

"Are you ready, Karren?" he asked.

I nodded and said, "Yes."

I hoisted the case into my hands and tottered behind him towards the front door.

Mother and Nathanael were waiting for us. Nathanael had finally found some courage and didn't look too dreadful. Mother, on the other hand, was completely distraught. Her eyes were swollen, crimson, and teary. I dropped my case and hugged her tightly.

"Mama, we'll be alright," I said. "Papa said so."

She sniffed and let out a small sob, but she smiled and nodded.

Just then, Father came to say goodbye. He went to Mother first. They hugged for a long time and kissed when the hug was over.

"I love you so much, Emma," he reminded her.

"I love you too," she said, crying yet smiling.

Father went to Arnold next and hugged him tightly. "Take care of your mother and sister, son."

"I will, Papa," Arnold said with false confidence, holding back tears.

He came to Nathanael next and scooped him into a giant hug. "Take care of your brother and sister, keep them in line."

"I'll try!" Nathanael replied, with a desperate sob.

And at last, Father came to me. He smiled and kneeled down. I ran into his hug, crying pitifully.

"I love you so much, Papa!" I wept.

"I love you, too, my darling Karren," he said, tearing up. "Make sure to be nice and never disobey Mama or Arnold, alright?" I nodded.

I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to say goodbye to him, I just couldn't!

But finally, he let go. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to see you bloom into a beautiful women, but I must do what is right to protect this family," he said, wiping away a tear in his eye. "I love all of you. Please, be safe and live happily."

We were all weeping by that point. With one last group hug, he finally said the word no one wanted him to say.

"Goodbye!" he heaved in between sobs.

We all picked up our bags and stepped outside on the front porch. The night was dark and there was only the dim light of the crescent moon shining weakly above us. No stars greeted us that night. There was a car waiting in front for us, ready to take us to the airport.

And that was the last time that my family would ever be together again.

* * *

(I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or any of its characters. This was made for entertainment purposes only and no copyright is intended.)


	3. Wilting

As we all piled into the car, Mother put on a brave face. Arnold packed all our things in the trunk before getting in. I sat in Mother's lap with Arnold in the middle and Nathanael in the other window seat.

"The airport, Madame?" the driver confirmed.

She nodded and said, "Yes, please."

"Alright," he said, pulling out of the driveway.

Everyone was completely silent on the way to the airport. No one uttered a word or a sob as the driver continued on the road.

When we finally reached the airport, Mother paid the driver and we all got our things and walked inside. She handed each of us passports and boarding passes, saying not to lose them under any circumstances.

As I looked at the boarding pass, our destination said France and the departure time was in about one and a half hours.

"Come on," she said hurriedly. She began walking towards the airport security.

Nathanael grabbed my hand and we began walking quickly behind Mother and Arnold to keep up.

We didn't need to check in our bags since they all weighed less than fifty pounds, so we could carry them on the plane with us.

We waited in the line for the security sweep for almost fifteen minutes before it was our turn. We had to take off our shoes and place all our accessories and bags in these little plastic bins. I didn't have to go through the metal detector since I was little, so I waiting for them on the other side to get back my shoes and bag.

I had just grabbed my bag and was about to put on my shoes when all of a sudden, the machine beeped on my mother.

The security people looked up in surprise and said, "Ma'am, do you have anything metal on you?"

She looked embarrassed and said, "Sorry, I forgot to take off my earrings..."

They proceeded to pat her down and then she was free to come over to me.

Arnold beeped as well, claiming he forgot to take off his belt. Nathanael beeped, too. He said he didn't know of anything metal on him. After they had pat down both of my brothers, we were free to go to gate C12, were our flight was taking off.

Mother grabbed my hand urgently and started walking quickly away from the security people.

With a sigh of relief, we all sat down in the benches to wait for our flight. There weren't that many people in the airport this late at night, so it was pretty quiet.

We were all chatting about nothing important for a while before a man in a security uniform tapped my mother in the shoulder.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said. "May I see your boarding pass?"

She looked a little confused, but nodded and gave the man her boarding pass. He looked at it intently for a while, flipped it over and looked at it even more.

"Thank you," he said, handing it back to her.

"What was that about?" Nathanael asked.

She watched man walk away before saying, "No idea..."

I looked ahead at the man walking away. He touched something on his ear, and then looked back at us. I looked away quickly before he noticed.

Mother started fidgeting in her seat. She kept looking around, like someone was watching us.

"Mama, is something wrong?" Arnold asked.

"I don't know," she said quietly. She suddenly clutched her head in pain and groaned. "Why now, damned head?!"

"Headache?" Arnold asked.

"Yes," she said, squeezing her eyes shut and putting her fingers on her temples.

"Do they have medicine here? Or is it too unsafe to take on the plane?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, looking up again. "I think I'll be alright."

We all sat silently for a while.

"Mama, I need to go to the bathroom," I said a little while later.

She looked to Nathanael and said, "Can you please take her?"

He nodded and stood up with me. "Let's go find a bathroom," he said, taking my hand.

I nodded and we walked away from our seats and down the middle aisle of the airport. Now that we were walking around, the airport really did seem as empty as ever. Only a handful of people were out and about. As we found the signs that lead to the nearest bathroom, two people carrying briefcases dressed in security outfits walked passed us. As they walked by, their heads turned towards us almost magnetically as they kept walking away. Nathanael's grip on my hand tightened as they passed by and his breath became shorter.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"Something about them smells funny..." he said, wriggling his nose.

We found the bathroom and I went quickly, remembering to wash my hands, and ran back out to join Nathanael. He grabbed my hand again and started walking much faster. I was almost jogging as I tried to keep up with him.

When we got back, the two security guards were talking to Mother. Nathanael stopped me, jerked me back, and pulled me to the ground.

"Sh," he whispered, hiding behind a wall.

We both concentrated on overhearing the conversation.

"It won't take long, ma'am," said one of the guards.

"It's just a routine procedure," assured the other.

"U-um, alright..." she said. "But why me...?"

"A random selection," said the first a little too quickly.

"It happens all the time," the other said.

"Ok," she said. "Stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

We heard their footsteps walking away. Nathanael checked to see if the coast was clear and we ran over to Arnold.

"Mama was just taken away," Arnold whispered to us urgently.

"I know," Nathanael said. "What do we do?!"

"She said to stay here..." I supplied.

"Does this mean they've found us out already?" Nathanael asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Let me think... It might just be a random questioning. I think we're all just a little paranoid right now concerning our current situation. Let's just stay here and wait for Mama, ok?"

"If you say so..." Nathanael said.

Arnold checked his watch. "We have about an hour before they call us up to board the plane. She has plenty of time to come back."

We all sat back down in our seats and waited for Mother patiently. We were all so nervous that we thought everyone that passed by was an investigator. I swung my legs rhythmically since they were too short to touch the floor. Arnold kept checking his watch almost every minute, and Nathanael was shaking his leg impatiently.

Finally, after thirty minutes, Mother appeared at the end of the walkway, striding calmly towards us. All three of us heaved huge sighs of relief. When she had reached us, I noticed that there was a stain on her shirt.

She looked at us with beating eyes and motioned us all closer.

"We need to leave immediately," was all she said.

My heart stopped beating as I finally smelled the blood stain on her shirt. Arnold didn't need an explanation; he calmly handed out everyone's bags to their owner and stood up. Nathanael looked as terrified as I did.

Mother grabbed my hand and held her bag over the stain on her shirt to hide it.

"Mama...?" I asked, looking up at her as we started walking away. "What's going on?"

She looked down at me and smiled, "Karren, don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Where are we going?" Arnold asked.

"Someone away from here," she said.

We just started walking through the airport, not really knowing where we were going. We all tried to act as natural as we could, but Nathanael and I were super paranoid.

But that's when it happened.

Mother stopped for a second and let go of my hand. I stopped, too, wondering why she let go.

She made a groan of completely agony and fell on the ground.

"Mama!" I screamed, throwing myself to her side. "Mama?! What happened?!"

Arnold and Nathanael rushed over, seeing that something was wrong.

"Mama!" I cried, shaking her.

She opened her eyes weakly and looked to me, "Karren... I guess my body just can't take it any longer."

"Mama!" I said.

"Arnold, take care of your siblings..." she whispered hoarsely.

"What...?" he asked.

I started crying. "Mama...? No...!"

"What's wrong, what's happening?!" Nathanael asked.

She closed her eyes and went limp.

I gasped.

Arnold pulled me away and embraced me. Nathanael dropped to the ground in despair. "Mama...!" he sobbed at her side.

Arnold pulled me in closer and said, "Karren, please listen to me. We need to go, ok? I know it's hard, but wipe away your tears, alright?"

I took one last sob and nodded, wiping the tears away from my eyes. Nathanael stood up looking hollow and said, "We can't just leave her here."

"We have to move, Nathanael," he said. "I don't like it either but-"

"Whatever," he said.

Arnold quickly bent down by Mother's side and kissed her forehead. He stayed there for a while before searching through her bag. He pulled out a stack of money and quickly shoved it into his bag and closed hers. "Goodbye, Mama..." he said.

He stood up and grabbed my hand and started walking away quickly. Nathanael followed not far behind us with the same hollow expression as before.

"The best chance we have is getting on the plane," Arnold said. "We're going to have to get on the plane."

No one replied to him.

We stopped to find a map of the airport and fixed our direction to head back to Gate C12.

I was wallowing in sadness with each step we took, though I couldn't show it outwardly. I could still smell the lingering salt in my dry eyes and the gut wrenching sound of her last breath replayed over and over in my mind as if it were happening again and again. My throat tightened at the very thought of Mother, but I held it together for Arnold.

And as we were walking, things got worse.

Nathanael skipped up next to Arnold and said in a low voice, "There are two people following us."

"Are you sure?" Arnold asked skeptically.

"Yeah," he replied. "They have been for a while."

His grip on my hand tightened for a split second. Suddenly, he looked up.

There were two people in front of us with white coats on and carrying briefcases. I looked back and there were two more people in white coats, carrying briefcases.

"Halt," said one of the men in front of us in Japanese.

We all stood frozen in terror.

"We have reason to believe that you three are ghouls," he continued. "If you resist, you will all be exterminated. If you come quietly, you can have your lives."

Both Nathanael and I looked to Arnold. He stood there, completely unfazed.

"I don't understand..." he lied, speaking in our native language. "Do you speak German?"

"We have proof," he said continued, not buying it. "It's no use denying."

Arnold and Nathanael looked at each other, both with fake confusion plastered on their faces.

"Arnold..." I said, petrified. "I'm scared."

"We have nothing to hide," Arnold insisted.

"If that's the way it's going to be..." he said, stepping forward.

Arnold tensed up and whispered to us, "Run on the count of three..."

The man clicked his briefcase.

"One..."

He took a step towards us, holding a long sword.

"Arnold...!" I said, panicking.

"Two..." he said.

The man said, "One last chance to come quietly..."

"THREE!" Arnold yelled.

All I heard was glass shattering above us. Nathanael had picked me up and started running as fast as he could when the lights went out overhead. Arnold followed behind, smashing out all the lights in the hallway till we were at our gate.

I looked over and Arnold had his ukaku out and his kakugan blazing blood-red, but by the time we reached the gate, he had put it away. Nathanael sat me down, panting like a dog, and fumbled around for his boarding pass.

The lady at the desk looked at us with a concerned look. "I was just about to close the doors, you're all lucky."

Arnold ran up and gathered all our boarding passes to show the lady. She let us through and then closed the doors as we all ran down the shaky walkway to get on the plane.

My heart was racing like it had never been before. We calmly found our seats. There was only a handful or more people on the plane with us. Arnold was the only one of us to reach the top compartments for carry-ons, so he put our luggage away. I sat in the window seat with Arnold on the aisle seat and Nathanael in the middle.

I looked to Arnold, who was panting just as hard as Nathanael and said, "Thank you."

"Yeah, really," Nathanael gasped. "That was... really quick thinking back there."

"It... It was nothing," he said, catching his breath. "I'm going to protect you both till we get to our uncle's house."

We three fastened our seat belts and waited patiently for the plane to take off.

Arnold looked at his boarding pass and the other things Mother had given him. "It looks like we have a connecting flight to Beijing and then to Tokyo. It has our uncle's address on this, too," Arnold said, holding up a sheet of paper. "Great, so we just stay on this flight until we get to Tokyo. Oh, but there are some long delays..."

"Are they gonna follow us?" I asked out of the blue.

"I don't know," Arnold whispered. "But I imagine so."

"We'll make it, don't worry," Nathanael said, smiling at me.

I couldn't find the happiness anywhere within me to smile back. I mostly slept on Nathanael's shoulder during the short two hours we were on the flight. In fact, I even slept through more people getting on the plane for our next leg of the journey to Beijing. But, I woke up with about seven more hours left on the flight to China.

Arnold had fallen asleep, but Nathanael was still awake.

"Get some good sleep?" he asked me.

I nodded and yawned as I lifted my head from his shoulder. "Did you sleep?"

"No, I can't," he said, looking a little worse for wear. "Too much on my mind."

His words brought my emotions into a state of turmoil. I almost burst into tears right there, but the sounds of a crying baby behind us stopped me from adding to the clamor of the plane.

Nathanael saw my distress and said, "It'll be ok, Karren. We'll get through this."

I looked away, not even bothering to reply. I opened the window shutter and started out the window on the land below. I couldn't really see much since it was the middle of the night, so I closed the shutter not long after.

Our mother and father were both gone, obliterated from existence. There was nothing left of the von Rosewald line except for us three. Father had charged us with carrying on the family's legacy, so we had to survive no matter what. It would be hard living without parents, but I had to have a little faith that my brothers and I would pull through these hard times.

Arnold woke up not much later and then proceeded to go to the bathroom. I wished to play my violin, but that wouldn't be widely accepted on the plane, so with nothing else to do, we were all forced to talk to each other.

Our conversations were about nothing in particular, but they never touched on the events that had just conspired and were lighthearted and trivial in nature. It felt almost like we were insulting my parents memories by not talking about them, but we had to extract the topic to avoid suspicion.

The flight attendants were all super cheerful and amicable. They offered us refreshments, but it took a while for us to find a common language. She started out in English, which none of us understood, then switched to Mandarin, and finally to French, a language in which we all understood. I silently thanked Mother that she taught us two extra languages.

But because I almost started crying, I had to change my thoughts to other things, happier things, like meeting our uncle for the first time. I wondered if they would be nice and let us stay with them for a while before we get our lives figured out.

"What do you think our uncle will be like?" I asked.

"I don't know," Arnold said. "Never met him before."

"Well, yeah, but what do you think?" I asked.

"I don't know, Karren," he said. "But Mama was fond of him, so I'm guessing good things."

Everyone went silent for a while.

Shortly after the moment of silence for Mother, Arnold struck up a new trivial conversation to lighten the mood. I joined in, relieved that he brought something else up, but Nathanael looked angrily at his knees.

"Are we really just going to ignore reality?" he suddenly spat out.

"Nathanael-"

"I don't know about you two, but I loved Mama and I'm terrified about what's going to happen next!" he continued.

"We're going to our uncle's house. We went over this," Arnold repeated delicately.

"That's not what I meant, Arnold," he said angrily. He whispered the next part. "I mean, the doves are after us and our parents are dead! What are we going to do for money and jobs and houses and education and food?! We're not ready to be alone!"

"I'll take care of us," Arnold asserted dauntlessly.

"You're only sixteen, you can't get a job," he argued. "Face it, we're all just going starve to death or even worse! Killed!"

"Be quiet," Arnold murmured, hitting him in the chest. "I told you, I'll take care of everything."

"Great..." Nathanael said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "My hero."

"Mama told me to look after you two, so that's what I intend to do, do you have a problem with that?" Arnold said sternly.

"No, I'm just worried you're not cut out for it and we'll end up dead on the streets," Nathanael said nonchalantly.

By that point I was in tears. "Stop it! Stop fighting...!" I cried. "All you guys do is fight! Why can't you just act normal for once? Especially now, when we all need to be kind to each other the most!" They both looked at me with guilty expressions. "I miss Mama and Papa, too, but we need to work together and figure it out as a team... as a family."

Both of them refused to look at each other, but I knew they were both thinking the same thing: we screwed up.

The baby behind us uttered a small cry, but the mother hushed it and tried to put it back to sleep.

It took them some time to apologize to each other and admit I was right. We spent the last five hours on the plane in complete silence.

When the plane landed, Arnold became rigid with anxiety. He brought our bags down from the overhead compartments and led us out of the plane. Even though we left Paris at midnight and the flight was ten hours, it was only two o'clock in the morning because of the six hour time difference.

"Where are we going now?" I asked. As I looked around in the airport, I suddenly realized that I couldn't read anything because everything was in Chinese.

"Sh," Arnold whispered.

He led us to the least populated area of the airport in a shadowy corridor and let us sit down, but he kept pacing.

"The investigators know that our flight went from Paris to here, so they're going to be hot on our trail," he started thinking aloud. "I'm sure the next flight to Beijing will come in a couple hours, so we a have pretty significant lead on them. They're looking for three siblings; they know what we look like." He suddenly stopped pacing and looked to us. "Let's change clothes for the time being. I'm going to go check on when the next flight comes in. Meet me back here, ok? I won't be long."

"Are you sure it's ok to split up?" Nathanael asked.

"It'll be fine," Arnold replied, already walking off.

Nathanael looked to me and grabbed my hand. We both stood up and went to find the first bathroom we saw. I changed out of my dress and into a floral patterned button-down shirt and a pair of shorts for my disguise as a little boy. I thought this would be the best choice since the investigators were looking for a little girl and her older brothers, rather than three boys. My hair was shorter than most girls, too, so that added to the persona I tried to create.

When I walked out of the bathroom, Nathanael was waiting for me outside the door.

"Wow," he said. "I didn't recognize you at first."

I smiled and said, "I can't wait to see what Arnold's going to say!"

He laughed and we started walking back to the place where we were going to meet up with Arnold. But he wasn't there when we got back. My heart skipped a beat.

"He'll be back soon," Nathanael said with a twinge of fear in his voice. "Let's just wait."

We both heaved sighs of relief when Arnold came back five minutes later, wearing a new shirt and pair of pants.

"Wow, Karren," he said. "Nice disguise."

"Thanks!" I said smiled. I got up to hug him. "We got scared when you weren't there."

"I said I would come back, didn't I?" he smiled back.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"It's my job to protect you two," he interrupted seriously. "I will always come back."

I nodded and said, "I know."

He smiled again and patted my head, "Good."

"So when's our next flight?" Nathanael asked.

Arnold bit his lip. "It's in five hours."

"Wh-what about the other one?" Nathanael hesitated to ask.

He didn't say anything for a while. "Three hours," he finally managed to say.

I slid down the wall to sit down next to Nathanael.

"What're we going to do?" Nathanael asked in a hollow voice.

"I don't know yet," he said. "But the doves could be here sooner if they decided to get a private plane."

I grabbed my knees and pulled them closer to my chest. "We have to go to Japan," I said.

"I know, and we are," he said. "But I don't know how long we can keep the doves off our trail if we're together."

"What're you saying?" Nathanael asked. "We split up?"

Arnold nodded. "That's the only thing I can think of that will draw their attention away to give us enough time to get on that plane."

"But, what if they find us while we're split up?" I asked.

No one said anything. They both just looked to the floor and averted my eyes.

"We'll make it work," Arnold managed to reply after a couple of minutes. "No matter what, I will get you two on that plane."

"You have to come with us," Nathanael demanded. "You have to. You're the one that has everything we need, the money, the address..."

"But if something happens and it's a choice between me and you two, I won't hesitate to pick you," he replied grimly.

"Don't say that," I whined. "We're all going to our uncle's _together_!"

They both nodded. "Nathanael, you go with Karren," Arnold said. "You're faster than me. You can outrun anything."

"But you have more raw power than me, she should go with you," Nathanael argued. "Speed won't fend off the doves."

"You're talking like it's inevitable that we fight the investigators..." I muttered.

Arnold took a deep breath and said, "Please, just take Karren."

"I don't trust myself enough to-"

"Nathanael, please," he begged. "It's better this way. Like I said, you're much faster than me. If they find me, I may be able to fend them off, but if Karren's with me, she won't know where to run if they attack. So please, when we split up, I'm leaving her in your care."

Nathanael refused to look up for a couple seconds before saying, "Alright."

Arnold sighed in relief and said, "Thank you." He started digging around in his luggage to find some papers. He handed them to the both of us. "Here are your new boarding passes. The gate is B4 and it leaves at 7:30, so try to be at the gate around 6:45."

We both nodded and took our boarding passes.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Nathanael asked.

"Let's hurry and get through security again," he said. "Is anyone else... hungry...?"

We both shook our heads. "We ate last week, remember?" I said.

"Yeah," he said. "But I didn't have much the last time we ate..."

"Don't go hunting, Arnold," Nathanael warned. "Just wait until we get to our uncle's. It's safer."

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "It was stupid, sorry."

We all got up and started making our way towards the security line again. This time, neither Nathanael nor Arnold beeped in the metal detectors and we proceeded to the "safe area" beyond the security line.

Arnold looked at both of us before deciding what to do next.

"This is where we split up," he said reluctantly. "I'll see you guys at the gate, alright?"

I hugged Arnold tightly and said, "Be safe!"

"You too," he said, hugging me back.

Nathanael hugged him next. "We'll be waiting for you."

"I'll be there," he chimed happily.

We almost started walking away, when Arnold called us back.

"Wait, I'm going to give you the address so someone else has it," he said. "I've already memorized it, so you can just keep it."

"Thanks," Nathanael said, taking the small piece of paper from him. "Do you have your boarding pass?" I nodded. "Ok, then. Bye, Arnold! See you in a little bit."

"Bye!" I called back, waving.

He turned around and waved at us.

Suddenly, I felt this strange twinge of guilt consume me. I wanted to run back after him and give him one last hug. I watched him walk away with a sort of sad mien on my face.

"Karren," Nathanael said. "Come on."

He grabbed my hand with the one that wasn't holding his luggage and we started walking towards our gate. We both tried to act like nothing was wrong, but inside we both felt extremely fearful. We tried walking behind families and singular people to try to blend in, but we undoubted still stood out because of our purple hair and white skin.

When we finally reached our gate, no one was there. The plane wouldn't be taking off for another five hours, so we had ample time to spare. But instead of doing anything fun, when we sat on the benches, Nathanael fell asleep almost instantly.

"Wake me up if anything happens," he said as he began to drift off.

* * *

I suddenly woke up with a gasp, but didn't remember when I had fallen asleep, nor did I remember the dream that woke me up. I looked around and saw that I was on the plane and my seat belt locked me in. I looked next to me and saw Nathanael laying his head down on the tray table. He was looking at me with a hopeless expression. Seeing that I was awake, he lifted his head.

"You fell asleep, so I carried you on the plane," he explained.

"Thanks..." I said sheepishly. I looked behind him, but didn't see Arnold. "Is Arnold in the bathroom, or something?"

Nathanael looked down, but didn't say anything.

My heart started pounding. "What?" I asked. "He's in the bathroom, right?"

He still refused to look at me, but said with a low voice full of despair, "I woke up right when the lady was calling for us to board the plane. I was kinda mad that you fell asleep on my shoulder when you were supposed to keep watch, but I got over it. I looked around; trying to see if he was close, but I didn't see him. Oh, maybe he's just late, I thought. He's coming soon. So I got both of us to our seats and started craning my neck to see if he was coming. Then, they shut the doors. Oh, maybe he's just messing around, I thought. He's coming soon. So I got up and started looking for him... But he wasn't on the plane."

"What're you saying...?" I asked as my heart completely stopped.

"He didn't make it on the plane, Karren," Nathanael said grimly. "He's gone."

I stared at him, not knowing what to say as a single tear left my eye. "Stop it," I said. "Don't scare me like that..."

"I'm telling the truth. Karren, he's not here."

"I don't believe you," I replied as another slid down my face.

"Karren, we are in the middle of the sky! He's not coming!" Nathanael yelled at me.

"So what, then?" I asked. "Did they get him?"

"I don't know," he replied. "He's not one to miss this sort of thing, so I can only imagine that's what happened..."

My heart felt like it weighed a million tons. My head hit the back of the seat and I stared at the ceiling.

"What's going to happen to us...?" I cried.

"We're going to our uncle's house," he said. "Together." He took my hand and held it tightly. " _Together_."

Father's words rang in my ears as we sat in absolute silence.

 _Carry on the Rosewald line._

Nathanael was prepared to do that in Arnold's place. Even though I only had Nathanael around, I believed we would make it. I had to cling onto any form of hope that I could muster. I closed my eyes and thought of Mother and Arnold the rest of the plane ride.

The flight was much shorter this time, only three and a half hours. But despite taking off at 7:30, the time change caused us to arrive in Japan at 10 instead of eleven.

As soon as the plane ride was over, we both raced out of the airport as quickly as possible. We found a subway map with the street names on it and looked for the street that our uncle's house was on.

"There," Nathanael pointed. "It should be somewhere on that street."

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Here..." he said, pointing far away.

"How long will it take on the train?" I asked.

"Karren, we don't have any money," he reminded me. "We'll have to walk."

"Oh, yeah..." I said. Arnold had all our money after Mother collapsed. "Well, then how long will it take to walk?"

"I don't know... A couple hours, I'm guessing," he said.

I groaned.

"Well, we're going to have to start sometime..." he said, taking my hand. "Let's go, Karren."

So we began walking. At every train station we passed, we kept checking the maps to see if we were still heading the right direction.

My feet got tired after the first hour or so, but Nathanael refused to stop. We didn't have time to stop. For all we knew, the doves were on our trail already. So I soldiered on, despite my aching feet.

* * *

After six, long, tiresome hours of walking, Nathanael finally said, "We're getting close!" Suddenly, I tripped over a rock and fell on my face. Nathanael laughed before helping me up. "You ok?" he asked. I scowled at him and nodded.

"My legs are killing me, Nathanael, can't we take a tiny break?" I pleaded.

He looked at me for a while before deciding. "Alright, but only a couple minutes," he said.

We found a bench to sit down. My feet were on fire from all the walking we had done, and they were so relieved when I had taken the weight off of them.

"Let me see the address," I said.

He brought out the crinkled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. As I unfolded it, I looked around at the street sign closest to us.

"How do you know we're getting close?" I asked.

"It's only a couple kilometers away," he assured me. "All we have to do is keep going straight down this road for a while, take a left, and keep walking until we get there."

"Cool," I said. "So how long?"

"Probably around thirty minutes to an hour, depending on how long you take," he mocked.

"I can't help it that I have smaller legs than you, Nathanael..." I scowled.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just teasing," he said. "Are you ready to head out yet?"

"No!" I begged. "Please, just a little longer, please?"

"Fine," he said. "Five minutes."

I smiled and thanked him.

About two minutes later, Nathanael tensed up. He leaned over to me and whispered, "Is it just me, or has that guy walked by us three times already?"

"Hmm?" I asked. "Who?"

He discreetly pointed to a man in a suit walking by, and then proceeded to act naturally.

"I don't know, I wasn't looking," I said. "Are you just paranoid?"

"Yeah, probably..." he said. Suddenly he stood up, grabbed his bag and took my hand, pulling me off the bench. "Come on..."

"What? Come on! That was _not_ five minutes!" I whined as my aching feet hit the ground once more.

"Just walk," he said, tightening his grip on my hand.

The street was desolate and the evening street lights were just beginning to come on around us.

Suddenly, there was a pair of footsteps behind us.

"Halt," said the man behind us in Japanese. "We know who you are. Come quietly and you can stop any more deaths from happening."

My heart completely stopped beating as terror washed through my whole body, making me feel numb.

"Karren," Nathanael whispered. "Run."

"No, I-"

"Karren, go!" he demanded. "I'll catch up!"

He let go of my hand and pushed me forward, turning around to face the men behind him.

I didn't have time to stop and think about anything. He told me to run, so I ran, and I ran as fast as I could while clinging to my luggage for dear life. I sprinted until the very end of the street and looked back. Nathanael was fighting three investigators. Tears rushed down my face as I took a left. Terrible thoughts zipped through my mind. Nathanael was quick, but not quick enough to fight three doves by himself. I shook my head, wiping my tears, and kept racing towards the end of the street.

I couldn't feel my feet aching, nor could I feel my heart racing. All I could feel was the adrenaline pumping through my legs, making them take longer and longer strides to go faster and faster.

But soon, I had to stop. I was completely out of breath and my legs were giving out from under me.

And that's when I heard it.

"ARGHHH!"

A voice was cut off in the middle of screaming somewhere off in the distance.

Nathanael's voice.

And that plunged a hole into my heart. I sobbed on the sidewalk, weeping and screaming till my face ached. I picked myself back up and continued racing to the end of the street despite every fiber of my body aching with pain and despair.

 _They're gone... They're all gone!_ I thought. _I'm the only one left. Am I going to die, too? Mama... Tell me this is all a dream. Tell me this is just some horrible nightmare!_

Father's words wrung through my aching head as I raced further and further down the sidewalk, searching for the house number of my uncle.

"Carry on the Rosewald line," he had said.

 _How can I?!_ I thought hopelessly. _It was supposed to be Arnold or Nathanael, how can I carry on their line if I'm just a girl?!_

But then, an idea suddenly popped into my head. I was wearing boy's clothes. Who's to say that I wasn't a boy?

 _Karren..._ I thought. _My name can't be Karren if I'm a boy now._

My thoughts suddenly turned to my family, which made me cry even harder.

K for Karren... H for Hans, N for Nathanael, A for Arnold, and E for Emily. I would use their names as a memorial.

The only thing I could come up with that remotely sounded like a boy's name was Kanae. I couldn't find a way to fit in the H for Hans, so I decided to leave it out.

 _Kanae..._ I thought. It had a nice ring to it.

To take my brothers' place as heir to the entire Rosewald family, to one day resurrect my family's name, to fulfill my father's wish... I would become Kanae.

And that's when I saw it, the glorious estate in front of me. I looked at the gate. It had a decorative T in the middle.

"Tsukiyama..." I gasped, wiping away the tears from my eyes and crossing the street to the big gate. In other words, safety.

I rapped on the gate with all my might, checking behind me to see if anything was following me. I rapped harder and harder as the paranoia in me grew every time I looked back at the empty street corner.

Finally, someone answered.

"What do you want?" It was a woman's voice. "This is a private residence."

I broke down crying and slid to the pavement. "You have to let me in! I need to see Mr. Tsukiyama!"

"What business brings you here?" she questioned further.

"Please, you have to believe me!" I pleaded. "My whole family is dead, you're the only family I have left! Please, just let me see Mr. Tsukiyama!"

"What's your name...?" she asked.

"Ka-Kanae von Rosewald," I replied.

She opened the gate.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well, ain't this just a fantastic way to celebrate Karren's birthday? I'm sorry for the emotional trauma I may have inflicted upon any of you... But anyways, back to Karren's birthday.**

 **Happy birthday to my poor child. You didn't deserve any of this, you beautiful flower. I wish you all the happiness in the world. Also, thank you Ishida-sensei for creating this fantastic character!**

 **~Momo**

* * *

(I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or any of its characters. This was made for entertainment purposes only and no copyright is intended.)


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